PayPal Set to Offer Crypto Trading in the UK and Potentially Adopt DeFi

Online payments giant PayPal is looking to expand its crypto trading service into the UK. A report unveiled this news earlier today, citing the company’s Q2 earnings call on July 28.

The firm’s crypto business performed exceptionally well during the period, ending June 30. Per PayPal’s CEO, Dan Schulman, this impressive performance is the main reason behind the company’s decision to offer the crypto trading service in other regions.

Reportedly, Schulman believes the expansion into the UK might come as soon as August. He pointed out that the firm is working on integrating more functions to its crypto trading platform after increasing the weekly crypto purchase limit from $20,000 to $100,000 two weeks ago. In the same breath, PayPal also lifted the annual purchase limit, giving users more choice and flexibility.

Schulman further noted that PayPal is working on integrating an open banking solution. This addition would allow seamless integration with the company’s automated clearing house (ACH) for faster payment processing. The increasing adoption of crypto trading services on Venmo, a PayPal-owned mobile payment firm, saw the platform’s revenue increase by 183%.

Striving to Keep Up With Financial Innovation

Apart from the increased efforts to bring the crypto payment service to other parts of the world, PayPal is also looking to add more crypto functionalities to its platform. The company’s super app is inching closer to going live, with Schulman saying it might be available in the US in the next few months. This app will, reportedly, feature high yield savings, messaging capabilities, additional crypto functions, and quick access to direct deposit funds, among other perks.

In the earnings call, Schulman revealed that PayPal is also exploring what the next generation of the financial system will look like. To this end, the company is trying to find ways to use smart contracts more efficiently and coming up with methods to digitize mainstream assets, thus increasing their accessibility. He added that there are also some interesting DeFi applications, hinting that the company might get involved with the burgeoning industry.

While Schulman’s statement only implies that PayPal might be looking to dabble in the decentralized finance sector, a leaked video from the EthCC conference in Paris disclosed that UniSwap, a leading decentralized exchange, has been holding discussions about DeFi integration with the company.